Rhetoric, Academic, and Pedagogical Communication
DOI 10.55206/RKZC9552
Mykola Chursin
Volodymyr Dahl East Ukrainian National University, Ukraine
Email: Chursin2N@i.ua
Halyna Shevchenko
Volodymyr Dahl East Ukrainian National University, Ukraine
Email: shevchencko.gala@gmail.com
TetianaAntonenko
Volodymyr Dahl East Ukrainian National University, Ukraine
Email: tl. antonenko4@gmail.com
Tetiana Zinovieva
Odesa Polytechnic National University
Email: zinovieva@op.edu.ua
Abstract. This article critically re-examines the educational “development paradigm” as a foundational methodological assumption of higher education in the context of accelerating technological transformation and artificial intelligence. It is argued that the traditional understanding of development as an inherently positive educational objective requires critical reconsideration. It is demonstrated that human development, technological development, and educational development no longer represent convergent trajectories and therefore should be conceptualised as complementary yet analytically distinct dimensions. Based on theoretical analysis, comparative interpretation, and critical synthesis of interdisciplinary scholarship, the growing divergence between the exponential dynamics of technological innovation and the cognitive, ethical, and communicative capacities of human beings is examined. Particular attention is devoted to educational communication as the principal mechanism through which knowledge is co-constructed, meanings are negotiated, and human agency is sustained within technology-mediated learning environments. The concepts of sustainable development, limits to growth, limits of destruction, posthumanism, and technological singularity are analysed in relation to their implications for higher education. It is substantiated that technological innovation should be evaluated not solely in terms of efficiency and economic performance but also according to its contribution to human flourishing, ethical responsibility, and democratic participation. It is concluded that the educational “development paradigm” should be reconceptualised as a differentiated methodological framework integrating technological progress with human agency, communicative ecosystems, educational communication, and future-oriented education in an AI-mediated society.
Keywords: higher education, educational “development paradigm”, pedagogical communication, AI-mediated communication, posthumanism, communicative ecosystems; future-oriented education.
Rhetoric and Communications Journal, issue 69, October 2026
